Caring Guinea Pig in Giving Birth
Posted: Saturday, January 30, 2010
by Peter Dranitsin
Petes Original Art Inc.
Breeding guinea pigs may be hard when care for the pregnant sow is taken lightly. It will be more successful when all precautions are taken and every care is given from the mating to nursing periods. Guinea pig sows will mate as early as four weeks of age. At this age, however, it may give your pet a harder time giving birth as well as reduce the virility of the litter. The best time to let the female mate is after five months of age. At this age, your guinea pig sow will most likely have no trouble giving birth to a robust litter.
During pregnancy, a healthy diet will be needed. The babies will comprise about 30% of the sow's weight near birth. To support their growth inside the womb, it is important to give your sow enough nourishment for herself and the babies. Feed your sow food rich in protein, fiber and vitamin C.
Fiber will ensure the mother has a good digestion to absorb all other needed nutrients. Vitamin C will ensure a healthy litter while protein is needed to make robust babies. During pregnancy, your sow will need twice the regular dose of vitamin C. Give her healthy greens, especially cabbages, dandelion and parsley. If necessary, give her supplementation. She should have at least 20 mL of vitamin C every day.
Company will be appreciated by the pregnant sow especially from a neutered or spayed guinea pig. A neutered pig may even help in the birthing by cleaning up and warming the litter!
A male, however, could be a threat to the litter. If you opt to keep the sow in the same cage as the boar, observe their behaviors very closely. It the female is in any way distressed by the presence of the male, it will be best to move the sow to a separate cage. In fact, consider moving the pregnant sow to a separate cage early on.
A normal gestation period for guinea pigs will last somewhere between 64 and 72 days. During this period, make sure to give your pet enough activity. Also, avoid handling your pet. Squeezing her in the stomach is, obviously, out of the question. At least a week from birth, you should already have moved the pregnant sow to another cage if she is not alone in her current cage.
The female guinea pig gives birth to an average of four litters per pregnancy. If you have a furry one, trim the fur in the abdomen. Excess fur will hinder proper suckling of the litter.
As a rule, healthy guinea pigs beget healthy litters. Neglecting the needs of your guinea pigs before breeding will only result to problems from gestation to weaning. Before breeding your pets, it is integral that they should be in optimal health. With care and a little help, you will definitely have cute and healthy little cavies in no time!
Cedric James is a lifelong guinea pig lover. For more great tips on caring for your pregnant guinea pig, visit http://www.guineapigsguides.com.
This Article has been viewed 724 times. (Not updated in real-time.)
No comments yet.We want your comments! If you can read this, you don't have javascript enabled, so you can't use this comment system. Please enable javascript.